Emotion and long-term memory for duration: Resistance against interference

• We examine the effect of emotion on the long-term memory for duration.
• A stimulus duration is better remembered when it is learned in a highly arousing context.
• Emotion strengthens memory traces of time and resistance against interference effects.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of emotion on the long-term memory for duration. On day 1, participants learned a temporal task in a high-arousing or neutral control condition that was followed by a 15-min interference task. Then, 24 h later, on day 2, they were given a test. In this recall test, they judged whether or not comparison durations were similar to the previously learned standard duration. The results showed that temporal discrimination was more accurate in the emotional than in the neutral condition. Emotion thus strengthened memory traces of time by increasing their resistance against interference effects.